Travail
by SakuraWillow
Summary: Sequel to Escape. You don't have to read that first but I recommend it. Gil & Catherine go through some trials. I know, bad summary, sorry. GRILLOWS
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys, Here is the sequel to Escape...dont hate me!

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Catherine Willows nervously sat on her bed, chewing on her bottom lip and staring at the clock. Two more minutes. Two more minutes and she would either cry tears of joy or tears of sadness...either way she would cry. It had been six months since she stopped the birth control, six months since her and Gil had been trying for a child. She didn't think it would be this hard. But every month she ended up getting her monthly curse. But this month she was late, a week late. So she bought a test. Now she sat here, trembling slightly waiting for the results.

She watched the seconds tick by, finally the five minutes was up and she stood, walking into the bathroom. With shaky fingers she picked up the test. Her lip began to tremble and she dropped the test. She walked back into the bedroom, laying on the bed, crying softly.

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like it? hate it? Click on the green link and leave me feedback :)


	2. Chapter 2

Hey guys, just a quick note, if you don't know wht Travail means, go look it up. You will get a better understanding of what this story is going to be like.

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Gil Grissom walked into the house he shared with his girlfriend. He laughed at that word, Girlfriend. He was 49, Catherine 41. They were hardly in the boyfriend/girlfriend stage anymore, in fact, last weekend he caught her eyeing engagement and wedding rings while they were at the Forum Shops. He asked her which one she liked, she picked out a tasteful one caret ring; he went back the next day and bought that ring, a few carets bigger of course. Now it was just a matter finding the right time to propose. He knew she would say yes, they were in a common law marriage already; they just needed that little piece of paper to make it official.

He climbed the stairs intending to get a shower in before he slipped into bed but stopped cold at the sound of Catherine softly crying. Opening the door to their bedroom he found her sobbing against the pillows. He was at her side in an instant, stroking her hair.

"Baby? What's wrong? What happened?"

She turned away from him "It's what didn't happen…" she sobbed "I'm not pregnant"

Gil sighed, relieved it wasn't something more serious. "Oh honey, come here" he said pulling her into his arms. She pushed him away.

"No! You don't understand! Six months Gil! We have been trying to have a child for six months! There has to be something wrong with me if I still can't get pregnant after six months of trying"

"No honey, no, there is nothing wrong with you. These things take time."

She sniffed, calming a bit. "It was so easy with Lindsey…hell Eddie and I weren't even trying, she just….happened."

"Catherine, you're not in your 20's anymore, and I'm not Ed….maybe it's me, maybe I'm the problem"

She shook her head "no, I refuse to believe that"

He smiled kissing her softly "Look, lets both make doctor's appointments. If it's either one of us then we will deal…if it's not, we just have to keep trying."

She looked into his eyes and nodded. "Ok…ok"

He pulled her close and hugged her tightly "I love you" he whispered into her ear.

She closed her eyes and hugged him even tighter "I love you more"

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Be nice and leave me good stuff and I'll be nice and give you more.


	3. Chapter 3

Here's Chapter 3! hope you enjoy!

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"FUCK!" Catherine screamed slamming the phone down.

"Something wrong dear?" Gil asked as he did the New York Times crossword at the kitchen table.

Catherine gave him her best death glare and crossed her arms "Yes, something is wrong. I can't get a fucking doctor's appointment for two months! What the hell am I supposed to do until then?"

Gil looked at her over the top of his glasses. He stood up and pulled her into his arms. "We keep trying" he said kissing the top of her head. "My appointment is day after tomorrow. After I get my results we will either be glad that there is nothing wrong with me or we can start fertility treatment. I don't want you thinking that if there is nothing wrong with me it has to be you. You will drive yourself insane until your appointment all to find out there is nothing wrong ok?"

She chuckled a bit "Come on Gil, if there's nothing wrong with you it has to be me."

"That's not true; you know that stuff like this takes time"

She closed her eyes and relaxed in his arms. "Ok, I'll try not to think that"

He smiled "Good, now I think you, my darling, need to get to work"

She looked up at him and kissed his lips softly "I love you"

"Love you too"

Catherine walked into the lab and made her way to her office. Passing by the break room she sawy Nick and Warrick "Hey guys! Walk with me" she smiled.

The boys stood up and followed her to her office. "Whats goin on boss lady?" Warrick asked sitting in the chair across from her desk.

"That's what I'm about to find out" she said holding up the folder with their assignments. "Ohhh only one…a 419 in Green Valley…who wants the night off?"

Nick and Warrick looked at each other. "Rock paper scissors man?" Nick asked

Suddenly, Catherine let out a sound neither of them had heard from her before. She burped. The both looked at her as her hand flew to her mouth, looking quite embarrassed.

"Excuse me…I probably shouldn't of had that Diet Coke" she said holding

The guys laughed and continued their game. Nick won the night off and Catherine sat at her desk, doing paperwork, wondering why she was burping so much…

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Leave me good stuff please!!!


	4. Chapter 4

here I am with another chapter!  


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Catherine paced the living room of her home in Summerland. She was sure she was wearing a path into her carpeting. Not like she cared, she was going to rip it up and put in hardwood floors anyways. He had been gone for two hours already. Two hours that had felt like ten. He left her with a kiss and a promise to call the moment he knew something. So she waited, and waited, and waited. Now she was sick of waiting. She picked up her phone and dialed half his number before she heard his key in the door. She turned and looked at him as he entered. He looked defeated, lost, sad.

"Gil?" she asked cautiously "What happened babe? What did the doctor say?"

He looked at her, a pain in his eyes she had never seen before "It's me" he said softly "I'm the problem"

Catherine's face fell and she shook her head "No, no you cant be"

He nodded "I am…I have a…low sperm count…it's highly unlikely that we can conceive without in vitro"

She moved to hug him but he pushed her away. "I…I can't Catherine, not now, I just…I want to be alone." He moved past her and into his office, locking the door.

She sat on the couch, hugging herself as a tear slipped down her cheek. Why couldn't anything be easy?

Gil sat at his desk with a sigh. He hated lying to her like that, but it was the only way he could get her not to worry about herself before her appointment. He took out the slip of paper with his results. He smiled knowing that his sperm count was actually that of a twenty year olds. It was odd they weren't pregnant yet, but honestly he thought Catherine was stressing out about the whole thing. If she would just relax maybe it would happen, but she was so worried about giving him a child, giving him what he wanted. What he really wanted was the woman he loved to be happy.

Slipping the results into a book he placed it on a shelf and sat back down. Suddenly he heard the door slam and her car start. He looked out the window just in time to see her car turn the corner.

He opened the door to his office to find a note taped to the door.

Gil,

I think we both need some time. I'll have my mom pick up Lindsey.

Xo

Cath

Sighing he rested his head on the door

"Fuck

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ooooohhhh....where did she go? leave me feedback and I just might tell you ;)


	5. Chapter 5

ok, I'm so into writing this that I just had to give you another chapter :)

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Catherine drove around Vegas for a good few hours crying before finally turning into the Rampart Casino parking lot. She left her car with the valet and walked up to the front desk with her sunglasses on.

"May I help you?" the young woman at the desk asked.

"Uh yes, I need a room" she said in a husky voice as she handed the woman her credit card.

The woman typed in her information and stopped. "It will just be a few moments Ms. Willows" the woman smiled and walked away. She spoke with a man, obviously her supervisor who picked up a phone.

Catherine rolled her eyes. Sam. He had flagged her name in the event that she tried to check in. The man hung up the phone and walked over to her. "Ms Willows, may I take your bags?" he asked coming around the desk.

"I don't have any" she said softly

He smiled "Then let me show you to your room"

He began walking towards the elevators and she followed him. He swiped his access card for the VIP elevator and took her to the 22nd floor where Sam was waiting.

"Hello Muggs" he said as she stepped off the elevator.

"Sam" she greeted him

"What's going on? Where is Gil?"

"At home, we needed…I needed some time away, to sort things out."

"What kind of things?"

"That's really none of your business Sam"

Sam stepped closer to her "Did he cheat on you? I swear if he cheated on you I will…"

"No Sam, he didn't cheat on me…we have been trying to conceive another child and we just found out that Gil has a low sperm count ok? Gil came home and just pushed me away. I thought it would be best just to leave him alone for a while so we can both sort out our feelings about this."

Sam closed his eyes and pulled his daughter into a hug "I'm sorry" he whispered into her hair "You can stay as long as you need too"

Catherine nodded, another tear slipping down her cheek. "Thanks dad"


	6. Chapter 6

You guys are really lucky today!

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When Catherine didn't return that night he began to make phone calls. First he called her cell, he didn't get an answer and truthfully didn't expect one. Next her mother. She had picked Lindsey up from school but didn't know, or wouldn't tell him where she was. He called all the team, all of her friends. None of them knew where she was. He sighed, there was one more person he could call. He hated to call him but he was the last resort.

He picked up the phone and dialed Sam's number.

"Hello Gil" Sam answered on the other line

"Sam…you wouldn't happen to know where Catherine is would you?"

"As a matter of fact I do"

Gil paused a moment "Do you mind telling me where?"

"You hurt her Gil, by pushing her away when all she wanted to do was comfort you"

Gil sighed "Look Sam, I didn't want to be comforted, I didn't need to be comforted. Nothing is wrong with me"

"That's not what Catherine told me."

Gil closed his eyes "I lied to her"

The line was silent for a moment

"You lied to her?"

"Yes, I lied to her, and it was the hardest thing I ever have had to do in my life. Look Sam, I love my wife, with everything I have. She is the air I breathe, I can't stand to be apart from her. I just didn't want her freaking out thinking that there is something wrong with her when I know there isn't."

There was another pause "She's not your wife"

Gil sighed "She will be very soon"

"Are you planning on proposing?"

"Yes I am"

"Do you have a ring?"

"Yes"

"Be at the Rampart in an hour, wear a tux, just ask for me at the front desk"

The phone clicked and there was a dial tone. Gil raised an eyebrow. Sam was making him propose tonight. Oh man, this better go well.


	7. Chapter 7

get ready to hate me :D

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Catherine laid on the bed in her hotel room absentmindedly rubbing her stomach. The TV droned on but she wasn't watching. Her mind raced with options of what she could do. In vitro? Treatment? Adoption?

A knock on the door jolted her from her thoughts. Sighing she got up and opened it thinking it was Sam. To her surprise a small army stood in front of her.

"Ms. Willows? Andre Christian, Hairdresser, my team and I have been asked to come make you over…but honestly, I don't think you need it" he smiled

Catherine blushed "Well thank you…who sent you?"

"Your father" he said walking into the room. He sat Catherine in a chair and pulling the hair tie out of her hair. "He wants to see you down stairs for dinner in an hour." He looked at her hair "oh someone needs a trim!" Andre pulled out his scissors and Catherine closed her eyes.

An hour later Catherine stood infront of the full length mirror and smiled. Andre and his team had done a wonderful job. He trimmed and curled her hair, the makeup artists did up her eyes and gave her a manicure and pedicure and the dress that Sam had sent over looked amazing on her. It was a light purple, modern short style that showed off her legs, and the Jimmy Choo heels didn't do any damage either.

Andre came up behind her and smiled "You look fab"

Catherine grinned from ear to ear "Thank you Andre"

"No need to thank me mama, I hardly did anything! Your too beautiful already" he kissed her cheek and walked to the door, opening it for her. "Now, I believe you are wanted down stairs"

Catherine took one last look and walked out the door. Taking the elevator downstairs she gasped seeing rose petals marking a pathway for her. She raised an eyebrow and an escort offered his arm. She took it and he led her through the casino to the waterfall. Sam was there, talking to Gil.

Gil saw his love and smiled. Walking over to her he took her face in his hands and kissed her softly.

"I love you" he whispered pulling back

"I love you too" she whispered back

Gil reached into his pocket and stepped back. He took her hand and looked into her eyes. "Catherine, when we met twenty years ago, I never could have hoped for what I have now. You have become my entire life. I can't sleep without you next to me, I can't breathe without knowing you are safe" He got down on one knee and opened the small black velvet box he held in his hand. Catherine gasped "and I can't live another day without you as my wife. Catherine Elizabeth Willows will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

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dun dun dun...what will she say?


	8. Chapter 8

hum....what does she say?

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Catherine looked at Gil and her mood changed instantly. She shot a look to Sam. "You really thought this would work?" she pulled her hand from Gil's and started back to the elevators.

Gil looked at Sam, who shrugged. Suddenly Catherine came back "You know, I expect something like this from Him, but not from you"

"Catherine, I have no-"

"Oh don't play dumb Gil. You had help writing that little speech of yours. Words like that could only come from a con artist like him." She turned again and walked off "Oh and just in case you were confused, my answer is no!" she yelled back storming through the casino.

Gil stood there in shock and Sam came up behind him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "What the hell was that?" Gil asked

"You would know better than me, you live with her." Sam joked "I'll go talk to her"

"No, let me, I need to clear the air with her." He looked at Sam "might want to keep the 22nd floor clear for a while…I'm sure it's going to be world war three when I go up there."

Gil stepped off the elevator onto the private floor where Sam kept his offices and a few rooms meant for family and close personal friends. Walking down the hall a photo caught his eye. A very young Catherine sat atop a horse, grinning from ear to ear as Sam stood by. He smiled, Lindsey looked exactly like Catherine at that age. He hoped that his child, if they had one, would look exactly like that too.

He continued on and knocked softly on Catherine's room door. There was no answer but he heard her, crying softly. He tried the door and to his relief it was open. He entered and looked around, finding Catherine face down on the couch. He walked over and kneeled next to her "Cath? Baby, please listen to me. Sam didn't coach me, he didn't tell me I needed to propose and he didn't buy that ring for you. I bought the ring a few weeks ago after you picked it out at the shop, I just had them set a bigger diamond in it. That speech was all me, I have been wanting to propose for months but it had to be just right Catherine, and Sam helped me do that. I told him exactly what I wanted and he made it happen. I picked out this beautiful dress and your shoes, I even told Andre how I wanted your hair." He chuckled "I love you Cath, all I want is to make you happy"

A sniff came from Catherine, but she didn't say a word.

"Please Catherine, say something"

"I never knew you were that romantic"

He chuckled, leaning over he kissed her cheek and she sat up, wiping her eyes. "I'm sorry…it all looked like a set up" she said with a teary smile.

"I'm sorry" he said softly. He pulled out the ring again and showed it to her

"Oh" she gasped "It's so beautiful Gil…How could you afford this?" she reached for the ring and he closed the box. She looked at him confused.

"There's one more thing I have to tell you, before you give me your answer." He took a breath "I lied to you Catherine. There is nothing wrong with me, I'm fine. I don't have a low sperm count. I just…you are so stressed out about giving me a child. I didn't want you worrying about yourself until your appointment."

"You lied to me?" she asked, her voice beginning to tremble.

"I'm sorry baby, I shouldn't have, and I am so deeply sorry."

"How do you expect me to trust you again? How do you ever expect me to believe a single word you say?" she almost yelled

He looked at her "Cath, I was only trying to protect you, you're so stressed on giving me what I want, all I want, all I ever want is for you to be happy"

"Yeah well lying doesn't make me happy" She said standing up. She walked to the bedroom and the door clicked

Gil sat on the couch and sighed. This was going to be a long night.

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I know you hate cliffies....but they keep you coming back hehe


	9. Chapter 9

Catherine sat on the bed and sighed. The emotions that were swirling around in her heart were confusing to say the least. She loved Gil with all her heart, but she also knew that something wasn't right. He was lying to her, and it went beyond trying to spare her heartache. The whole thing with her father and Gil proposing…it just wasn't like Gil to trust her father in any way. She lay down and placed her hands over her stomach. Why the hell did life have to be so complicated?

It was about 2am when Gil finally fell asleep, it was 3am when Catherine came out of the bedroom. She smiled seeing Gil sprawled out on the chaise lounge. Grabbing a blanket she gently placed it over him and kissed him softly. No matter what he had done, she still loved him more than anything. He was still holding the ring box and she gently slipped it from his hand. Opening it she looked at the ring. He father had to have helped him with this. There was no way Gil could have afforded this on his own. Gil tried to fool her with the box but she remembered picking out the ring…from Tiffany's. The diamond had to be 2 carets at least; not counting the channel set diamonds in the platinum band. For Gil it would have cost a small fortune, but a drop in the hat for Sam.

"Put it on, it's yours whether you marry me or not" Gil said softly

Catherine closed the box and set it back in his hand "I don't need my father buying my engagement ring; I'd rather my fiancé bought me one, a small one that he can afford"

Gil sat up and looked at her. "Catherine, he didn't buy it, I bought it."

"Gil, please stop covering for him and please stop lying to me."

"I'm not lying to you Catherine! My God, what do I have to do to prove it to you?"

"Tell me where you got the money"

"My savings"

Catherine laughed "Gil, I have access to your bank accounts remember? You couldn't have afforded that ring, it had to have been 40,000 at least"

"43,000 actually" he said softly "not including the matching wedding band"

"Where did you get the money Gil?"

"I had it saved in a separate account; it was mostly inheritance from my mother, with a bit of my own money thrown in the mix. I didn't tell you about it because I didn't want you to get suspicious if you saw a huge drop in the balance. Look Catherine, you can choose to believe me or not, but the truth is, I paid for it all. Your father just helped with the logistics of everything. The hair, makeup, your dress, shoes, the roses, the ring all of it. Your father wanted to help but I said no."

Catherine looked at him, searching for a hint of deception in his eyes.

"I shouldn't have kept the account from you, I just….it's a lot of money that I have in there Cath."

"What so you don't trust me?"

"No baby, no, if you want it, it's yours, I will give you the world if you want. I just didn't want the money to change what we have. We are comfortable, we can afford to buy what we want, and I didn't want the money to make us something that I hate."

Catherine opened the ring box once more and took it out "You didn't want to spoil me, and yet you buy me a ring worth more than most cars…"

"You liked it when you saw it. I just made the diamond what I thought you deserved."

Catherine smiled softly and took Gil's hand, placing the ring in his palm. "ask me again"

Gil smiled "Will you marry me?"

She nodded.

Gil slipped the ring on her finger and kissed her deeply. He rested his forehead against hers. "I love you" he whispered

"I love you more"


	10. Chapter 10

Hey guys, sorry for the delay. with the holidays and the 2 other stories I'm writing it's been tough, but I'm gonna try and finish this soon :)

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A few days later Catherine walked into the lab with a huge smile on her face and a big rock on her hand. The females in the lab were first to notice. Mia and Mandy congratulated her and the boys quickly followed suit. She of coursed thanked them and quickly got down to business handing out assignments.

"Ok, Nick, Your with me on the domestic, Warrick, you got the trash run" she smiled

"Awww Cath, what did I do?" Warrick complained

"Who said you did anything?" Catherine smirked, patting his back as she walked by

Nick followed her chuckling. They grabbed their kits and made their way to her truck. Once inside Nick smiled at her

"You're really happy huh?"

"Nick, I've never been happier in my entire life."

They arrived at the scene and Catherine stepped out of the car. She inhaled and immediately gagged. "Ugh, Nick, don't you smell that?"

"Smell what?"

"It smells like decomp, my goodness, I can't believe you don't smell that"

Nick shrugged and continued on into the house. Catherine went followed her nose and went around back. She looked around the backyard; saw nothing out of the ordinary, until she looked closer at the pile of mulch near the back fence. She walked over, pulled on a glove and moved some of the mulch around. That's when a hand appeared in the muck.

She called Brass over and then called Warrick to come and help them process. The smell was over powering to say the least. She walked back out front threw up in the street. Jim followed her and rubbed her back

"Hey rookie, you ok?" he teased

Catherine gave him a look "That smell is just getting to me"

He raised an eyebrow "Cath, the smell isn't that bad, hell I didn't even smell it and you know how my nose is. Maybe this is something else."

She took a deep breath "Maybe. Hey I'm gonna get out of here, tell the boys to meet me at the lab when they are done?"

Jim nodded and gave her a quick hug. "Take care of yourself, oh and congats by the way"

She smiled "Thanks Jim"

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Like it? Hate it? Let me know :)


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